BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 12. Kazakhstan’s
imports of goods increased by 5.5% year-on-year to $31.5 billion in
the first half of 2026, driven by higher purchases of intermediate
and investment goods, while consumer goods imports declined.


This was reflected in a press release published by Kazakhstan’s
Ministry of National Economy, citing Kazakhstan’s Bureau of
National Statistics.


According to the publication, intermediate goods accounted for
47.6% of total imports, reaching $15 billion after a 14% increase.
Investment goods imports rose by 10.6% to $8.1 billion.


Trend’s calculations
show that intermediate and investment goods together accounted for
approximately 73.3% of Kazakhstan’s total imports, or $23.1
billion, in January-June 2026.


The increase in these two categories added approximately $2.6
billion to imports compared with the first half of 2025. Meanwhile,
consumer goods imports declined by around $1 billion, partly
offsetting the increase in production-related purchases. These
estimates are based on reported growth rates and rounded
values.


Consumer goods imports fell by 10.5% to $8.3 billion. Non-food
consumer goods imports declined by 15.4% to $5.6 billion, according
to the ministry, citing the Bureau of National Statistics.


Under the National Bank’s balance of payments methodology,
imports increased by 6.2% to $32.3 billion. Intermediate goods
imports rose by 13.8%, while non-food consumer goods imports
decreased by 11.2%. Exports grew by 27.1%, more than four times
faster than imports.


The increase in investment goods imports coincided with stronger
capital investment in Kazakhstan’s manufacturing industry.
According to the ministry, citing the Bureau of National
Statistics, investment in fixed capital rose by 9.6% in real terms
to 9.5 trillion tenge in January-June 2026. Investment in
manufacturing increased by 33.3% to 1.43 trillion tenge, accounting
for approximately 15% of total investment.







Manufacturing output grew by 9.8% during the period, while
machinery production increased by 23.1% and chemical industry
output by 20.7%.


Imports of several categories of industrial equipment also
recorded significant increases. Purchases of electric generating
sets rose by 83%, machinery for lifting, handling, loading and
unloading by 70.1%, and equipment for sorting and grinding earth by
2.1 times.


Intermediate goods imports were supported by higher purchases of
natural gas, up 96.3%; turbojet engines and gas turbines, up 2.7
times; petroleum products, up 41.6%; uranium, up 2.6 times; and
gold, up six times.


Meanwhile, imports of passenger cars declined by 21.9%,
pharmaceutical products by 18.7%, suitcases and bags by 49.4%,
women’s textile clothing by 38.9%, and air conditioners by
34.3%.


According to the ministry, citing the National Bank, imports of
non-food consumer goods have declined for 11 consecutive quarters
since the fourth quarter of 2023.


The decrease in passenger car imports coincided with an
expansion in domestic production. Kazakhstan produced 88,886
passenger cars in January-June 2026, up 37.2% year-on-year, while
sales in the official dealership segment remained stable. This
trend points to a potential partial substitution of imports by
domestic assembly.